Neck bibs are often used for young children in order to keep the child clean while eating or engaging in other typical child activities which can often be messy. Such bibs known in the art typically attach at the neck and are often made of absorbent material, such as terrycloth, and cover the upper chest. Some improved bibs include the use of waterproof or water repellent material.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,530,968, Crockett describes an apron that protects the wearer from food and drink spillage. The apron is formed of a relatively thin sheet of material having tape or other means to close the neck closure portion and seal the sides of the pocket portion in the event that heat sealing is not used. This apron may be provided inexpensively with fast food meals and/or dispensed from a container having a number of aprons packaged separately.
However, young children may not find such bibs desirable to wear. Since such bibs utilize bib portions near the neck, children often find such bibs to be uncomfortable. In addition, bibs having neck connectors can be removed by a child reaching around the back of their neck. This can be especially true of older infants who have learned to remove their neck bibs. In addition, such bibs do not effectively catch food and liquid as their pockets and can collapse when worn over the lap.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,481,016, Rees describes a baby bib having a body portion of semi-rigid plastics material having a spillage collection scoop. Bibs made of semi-rigid plastic material are not preferred for use with young children. Such bibs are typically difficult to clean as the inside of the scoop can be difficult to scrub if made of soft and/or flexible materials In addition, known bibs typically are only effective when worn around the neck and extend only as far as the waist. When such bibs as described by Rees are made of flexible material so as to be machine-washable and extend to protect the lap, such bibs do not hold the shape of the pocket when worn—especially when the wearer is sitting.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,490,289, Lehrer describes a baby bib having a panel of absorbent material and a pocket at a lower edge to collect materials which may fall upon the bib and which are not retained by the panel.
Accordingly, there is a need for an improved bib suitable for use with young children. More particularly, there is a need for a bib which can protect clothing or apparel and which cannot be readily removed by a young child.